Los Angeles’ place in the history of modern ceramics is well established. The development of artists such as Peter Voulkos, John Mason and Kenneth Price provide the rich background in LA for a continuing investigation in this ancient medium. There has been much re-visitation in recent years of the accomplishments and influence of those titans of the form, from Scripps College’s Pacific Standard Time exhibition Clay’s Tectonic Shift, to LACMA’s recent Ken Price retrospective.

In Software, a sampling of the current state of contemporary artists in LA who work with clay is brought to the foreground, with an emphasis on contemporary shifts with a more immediate relevancy in both form and subject. As a media choice, clay and it’s traditions are as old as civilization itself; as a contemporary form in Los Angeles, a voice was found for it that was modern, informed, and versatile. The five artists of Software offer a range of views that are simultaneously indebted to and break away from the craft traditions and the documented contemporary history of working with clay in southern California.